1"Bhikkhus, suppose a sheaf of barley were set down at a crossroads. Then six men would come along with flails in their hands [n.220] Byābhaṅgihatthā. Spk glosses kājahatthā, Spk-pṭ daṇḍahatthā. and they would strike that sheaf of barley with the six flails. Thus that sheaf of barley would be well struck, having been struck by the six flails. Then a seventh man would come along with a flail in his hand and he would strike that sheaf of barley with the seventh flail. Thus that sheaf of barley would be struck even still more thoroughly, having been struck by the seventh flail.

"So too, bhikkhus, the uninstructed worldling is struck in the eye by agreeable and disagreeable forms; struck in the ear by agreeable and disagreeable sounds; struck in the nose by agreeable and disagreeable odours; struck in the tongue by agreeable and disagreeable tastes; struck in the body by agreeable and disagreeable tactile objects; struck in the mind by agreeable and disagreeable mental phenomena. If that uninstructed worldling sets his mind upon future renewed existence, [n.221] Āyatiṃ punabbhavāya ceteti. Spk: Thus beings, thoroughly struck by the defilements (rooted in) the longing for existence, experience the suffering rooted in existence (bhavamālakaṁ dukkhaṁ). then that senseless man is struck even still more thoroughly, just like the sheaf of barley struck by the seventh flail.

2"Once in the past, bhikkhus, the devas and the asuras were arrayed for battle. [n.222] On the enmity between the devas and the asuras, see 11:1–6. The following is parallel to SN11.4 (I 221,3–17). Then Vepacitti, lord of the asuras, addressed the asuras thus: ‘Good sirs, if in this impending battle the asuras win and the devas are defeated, bind Sakka, lord of the devas, by his four limbs and neck and bring him to me in the city of the asuras.’ And Sakka, lord of the devas, addressed the Tāvatiṁsa devas: ‘Good sirs, if in this impending battle the devas win and the asuras are defeated, bind Vepacitti, lord of the asuras, by his four limbs and neck and bring him to me in Sudhamma, the assembly hall of the devas.’

"In that battle the devas won and the asuras were defeated. sn.iv.202 Then the Tāvatiṁsa devas bound Vepacitti by his four limbs and neck and brought him to Sakka in Sudhamma, the assembly hall of the devas. And there Vepacitti, lord of the asuras, was bound by his four limbs and neck.

"When it occurred to Vepacitti: ‘The devas are righteous, the asuras are unrighteous; now right here I have gone to the city of the devas,’ he then saw himself freed from the bonds around his limbs and neck and he enjoyed himself furnished and endowed with the five cords of divine sensual pleasure. But when it occurred to him: ‘The asuras are righteous, the devas are unrighteous; now I will go there to the city of the asuras,’ then he saw himself bound by his four limbs and neck and he was deprived of the five cords of divine sensual pleasure.

"So subtle, bhikkhus, was the bondage of Vepacitti, but even subtler than that is the bondage of Māra. In conceiving, one is bound by Māra; by not conceiving, one is freed from the Evil One. [n.223] As at SN22.64 (III 75,3–4). Spk says: "In conceiving the aggregates by way of craving, conceit, and views."

3"Bhikkhus, ‘I am’ is a conceiving; ‘I am this’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall not be’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall consist of form’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be formless’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be percipient’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be nonpercipient’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be neither percipient nor nonpercipient’ is a conceiving. [n.224] Maññita. Spk: "I am" (asmi) is a conceiving through craving; "I am this" (ayam aham asmi), a conceiving through views; "I shall be," a conceiving through the eternalist view; "I shall not be," a conceiving through the annihilationist view. The rest are specific types of eternalism.
The connection Spk makes between "I am" and craving is unusual, as the notion "I am" (asmi) is typically ascribed to conceit; however, SN22.89 (III 130,31) has asmī ti chando, and possibly the commentator had this in mind. "I am this" is the seminal type of identity view, whereby a person establishes a personal identity by identifying one or another of the five aggregates as a self. The ninefold conceiving is mentioned at SN22.47; see too MN III 246,11–17. Conceiving is a disease, conceiving is a tumour, conceiving is a dart. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will dwell with a mind devoid of conceiving.’

4"Bhikkhus, ‘I am’ is a perturbation; [n.225] The key terms of the next three paragraphs are iñjita, phandita, and papañcita. Spk: "This is to show that on account of these defilements (craving, etc.), beings are perturbed, vacillate, and procrastinate." Papañca is often explained in the commentaries as pamādakarā dhammā, the factors responsible for heedlessness or procrastination. ‘I am this’ is a perturbation; ‘I shall be’ is a perturbation … ‘I shall be neither percipient nor nonpercipient’ is a perturbation. Perturbation sn.iv.203 is a disease, perturbation is a tumour, perturbation is a dart. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will dwell with an imperturbable mind.’

5"Bhikkhus, ‘I am’ is a palpitation; ‘I am this’ is a palpitation; ‘I shall be’ is a palpitation … ‘I shall be neither percipient nor nonpercipient’ is a palpitation. Palpitation is a disease, palpitation is a tumour, palpitation is a dart. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will dwell with a mind devoid of palpitation. ’

6"Bhikkhus, ‘I am’ is a proliferation; ‘I am this’ is a proliferation; ‘I shall be’ is a proliferation … ‘I shall be neither percipient nor nonpercipient’ is a proliferation. Proliferation is a disease, proliferation is a tumour, proliferation is a dart. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will dwell with a mind devoid of proliferation.’

7"Bhikkhus, ‘I am’ is an involvement with conceit; [n.226] Mānagata. Spk: Conceit itself is an involvement with conceit. In this passage, "I am" is stated by way of the conceit associated with craving; "I am this," by way of view. Although conceit does not arise in immediate conjunction with views (according to the Abhidhamma analysis of mind-moments, they are mutually exclusive), views occur because conceit has not been abandoned. So this is said with reference to views rooted in conceit. ‘I am this’ is an involvement with conceit; ‘I shall be’ is an involvement with conceit; ‘I shall not be’ is an involvement with conceit; ‘I shall consist of form’ is an involvement with conceit; ‘I shall be formless’ is an involvement with conceit ; ‘I shall be percipient’ is an involvement with conceit; ‘I shall be nonpercipient’ is an involvement with conceit; ‘I shall be neither percipient nor nonpercipient’ is an involvement with conceit. Involvement with conceit is a disease, involvement with conceit is a tumour, involvement with conceit is a dart. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will dwell with a mind in which conceit has been struck down.’ Thus should you train yourselves."

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sn.iv.204

1"Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, yavakalāpī cātumahāpathe nikkhittā assa. Atha cha purisā āgaccheyyuṁ byābhaṅgihatthā. Te yavakalāpiṁ chahi byābhaṅgīhi haneyyuṁ. Evañhi sā, bhikkhave, yavakalāpī suhatā assa chahi byābhaṅgīhi haññamānā. Atha sattamo puriso āgaccheyya byābhaṅgihattho. So taṁ yavakalāpiṁ sattamāya byābhaṅgiyā haneyya. Evañhi sā bhikkhave, yavakalāpī suhātatarā assa, sattamāya byābhaṅgiyā haññamānā.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, assutavā puthujjano cakkhusmiṁ haññati manāpāmanāpehi rūpehi … pe … jivhāya haññati manāpāmanāpehi rasehi … pe … manasmiṁ haññati manāpāmanāpehi dhammehi. Sace so, bhikkhave, assutavā puthujjano āyatiṁ punabbhavāya ceteti, evañhi so, bhikkhave, moghapuriso suhātataro hoti, seyyathāpi sā yavakalāpī sattamāya byābhaṅgiyā haññamānā.

2Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, devāsurasaṅgāmo samupabyūḷho ahosi. Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo asure āmantesi: ‘Sace, mārisā, devāsurasaṅgāme samupabyūḷhe asurā jineyyuṁ devā parājineyyuṁ, yena naṁ sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ kaṇṭhapañcamehi bandhanehi bandhitvā mama santike āneyyātha asurapuran’ti. Sakkopi kho, bhikkhave, devānamindo deve tāvatiṁse āmantesi: ‘Sace, mārisā, devāsurasaṅgāme samupabyūḷhe devā jineyyuṁ asurā parājineyyuṁ, yena naṁ vepacittiṁ asurindaṁ kaṇṭhapañcamehi bandhanehi bandhitvā mama santike āneyyātha sudhammaṁ devasabhan’ti.

Tasmiṁ kho pana, bhikkhave, saṅgāme devā jiniṁsu, asurā parājiniṁsu. Atha kho, bhikkhave, devā tāvatiṁsā vepacittiṁ asurindaṁ kaṇṭhapañcamehi bandhanehi bandhitvā sakkassa devānamindassa santike ānesuṁ sudhammaṁ devasabhaṁ.

Tatra sudaṁ, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo kaṇṭhapañcamehi bandhanehi baddho hoti. Yadā kho, bhikkhave, vepacittissa asurindassa evaṁ hoti: ‘dhammikā kho devā, adhammikā asurā, idheva dānāhaṁ devapuraṁ gacchāmī’ti. Atha kaṇṭhapañcamehi bandhanehi muttaṁ attānaṁ samanupassati, dibbehi ca pañcahi kāmaguṇehi samappito samaṅgībhūto paricāreti. Yadā ca kho, bhikkhave, vepacittissa asurindassa evaṁ hoti: ‘dhammikā kho asurā, adhammikā devā, tattheva dānāhaṁ asurapuraṁ gamissāmī’ti, atha kaṇṭhapañcamehi bandhanehi baddhaṁ attānaṁ samanupassati. Dibbehi ca pañcahi kāmaguṇehi parihāyati.

Evaṁ sukhumaṁ kho, bhikkhave, vepacittibandhanaṁ. Tato sukhumataraṁ mārabandhanaṁ. Maññamāno kho, bhikkhave, baddho mārassa, amaññamāno mutto pāpimato.

3‘Asmī’ti, bhikkhave, maññitametaṁ, ‘ayamahamasmī’ti maññitametaṁ, ‘bhavissan’ti maññitametaṁ, ‘Na bhavissan’ti maññitametaṁ, ‘rūpī bhavissan’ti maññitametaṁ, ‘arūpī bhavissan’ti maññitametaṁ, ‘saññī bhavissan’ti maññitametaṁ, ‘asaññī bhavissan’ti maññitametaṁ, ‘nevasaññīnāsaññī bhavissan’ti maññitametaṁ. Maññitaṁ, bhikkhave, rogo, maññitaṁ gaṇḍo, maññitaṁ sallaṁ. Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘amaññamānena cetasā viharissāmā’ti – evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabbaṁ.

4‘Asmī’ti, bhikkhave, iñjitametaṁ, ‘ayamahamasmī’ti iñjitametaṁ, ‘bhavissan’ti iñjitametaṁ, ‘Na bhavissan’ti iñjitametaṁ, ‘rūpī bhavissan’ti iñjitametaṁ, ‘arūpī bhavissan’ti iñjitametaṁ, ‘saññī bhavissan’ti iñjitametaṁ, ‘asaññī bhavissan’ti iñjitametaṁ, ‘nevasaññīnāsaññī bhavissan’ti iñjitametaṁ. Iñjitaṁ, bhikkhave, rogo, iñjitaṁ gaṇḍo, iñjitaṁ sallaṁ. Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘aniñjamānena cetasā viharissāmā’ti – evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabbaṁ.

5‘Asmī’ti, bhikkhave, phanditametaṁ, ‘ayamahamasmī’ti phanditametaṁ, ‘bhavissan’ti … pe … ‘Na bhavissan’ti … ‘rūpī bhavissan’ti … ‘arūpī bhavissan’ti … ‘saññī bhavissan’ti … ‘asaññī bhavissan’ti … ‘nevasaññīnāsaññī bhavissan’ti phanditametaṁ. Phanditaṁ, bhikkhave, rogo, phanditaṁ gaṇḍo, phanditaṁ sallaṁ. Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘aphandamānena cetasā viharissāmā’ti – evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabbaṁ.

6‘Asmī’ti, bhikkhave, papañcitametaṁ, ‘ayamahamasmī’ti papañcitametaṁ, ‘bhavissan’ti … pe … ‘Na bhavissan’ti … ‘rūpī bhavissan’ti … ‘arūpī bhavissan’ti … ‘saññī bhavissan’ti … ‘asaññī bhavissan’ti … ‘nevasaññīnāsaññī bhavissan’ti papañcitametaṁ. Papañcitaṁ, bhikkhave, rogo, papañcitaṁ gaṇḍo, papañcitaṁ sallaṁ. Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘nippapañcena cetasā viharissāmā’ti – evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabbaṁ.

7‘Asmī’ti, bhikkhave, mānagatametaṁ, ‘ayamahamasmī’ti mānagatametaṁ, ‘bhavissan’ti mānagatametaṁ, ‘Na bhavissan’ti mānagatametaṁ, ‘rūpī bhavissan’ti mānagatametaṁ, ‘arūpī bhavissan’ti mānagatametaṁ, ‘saññī bhavissan’ti mānagatametaṁ, ‘asaññī bhavissan’ti mānagatametaṁ, ‘nevasaññīnāsaññī bhavissan’ti mānagatametaṁ. Mānagataṁ, bhikkhave, rogo, mānagataṁ gaṇḍo, mānagataṁ sallaṁ. Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘nihatamānena cetasā viharissāmā’ti – evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban"ti.

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Ekādasamaṁ.
Āsīvisavaggo catuttho.

8Āsīviso ratho kummo,
dve dārukkhandhā avassuto;
Dukkhadhammā kiṁsukā vīṇā,
chappāṇā yavakalāpīti.

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Saḷāyatanavagge catutthapaṇṇāsako
samatto.

9Nandikkhayo saṭṭhinayo,
samuddo uragena ca;
Catupaṇṇāsakā ete,
nipātesu pakāsitāti.

Saḷāyatanasaṁyuttaṁ samattaṁ.